


First Encounters

by ChessCat



Series: Bizarre Tales of Tom Riddle's Antique Store [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, もののべ古書店怪奇譚 | Mononobe Koshoten Kaikitan (Manga)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Demons, Eldritch, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25630360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChessCat/pseuds/ChessCat
Summary: Tom Riddle was an orphan who grew up amidst a war and he feared nothing more than death. So, he decided to embark on a journey to find immortality, unknowningly signing himself for something way more troublesome than he expected.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: Bizarre Tales of Tom Riddle's Antique Store [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716130
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	First Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> So, I entered a Harry Potter fanfic writing competition and this is my entry. There was a word limit so you can see it is shorter than the first part. Please vote for me [here](https://m.facebook.com/trepublishinghouse/photos/a.3424898640854805/3490072644337404/?type=3&d=m) by sharing and reacting.
> 
> Anyway, this is basically Tom origin story in this AU of mine. I've included some images of Mononobe Koshoten Kaikitan in the end notes so you guys can better get how the relationship of Harry (Shirou) and Tom (Soutaro) works. Kinda.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was just a young orphan in the midst of war. And he feared death more than anything. A seemingly completely normal fear, sure, but rarely has there been anyone who feared their end to such a degree. Perhaps, this is because death surrounded Tom from the moment he was born. His mother died barely seconds after giving birth to him. In his early years, the boy grew up in a poor district where corpses of those who died of starvation and various diseases littered the streets. In his teens, a war broke out. Bombs dropped from the sky, taking lives, destroying buildings and devastating cities. Soldiers scoured the cities and villages, killing anyone they saw. Death has always surrounded the boy.

It was his extreme case of thanatophobia that brought him to this moment: his search for immortality. Oh, how hard had he searched. He scoured through hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of libraries looking for the smallest clues. He had also tried dipping into alchemy and creating the Philosopher's Stone! And, crazy enough, he had even tried to look for the Necronomicon. A complete waste of time, looking for that one book briefly referenced by a racist English horror author, but Tom was desperate.

But now, at the age of 26, he had finally found it. An ancient mysterious black journal talking about elusive objects known only as the 「Demonic Artefacts」 which have the ability to turn plain, ordinary humans into immortal demons. 666 Artefacts, divided into 54 families. Each with a different power, all granting immortality. The book also delved into demonology and how the Artefacts work. Long term exposure to the Artefacts is already enough to turn one into a demon. Additionally, when one becomes a demon, they reject their humanity and are reborn as demons, gaining a new name in the process. Should someone stand before them and utter their new name, they can no longer hide as humans and their true demon self will be revealed. After the explanations, there was a list of all 666 Artefacts and demons created from them, each accompanied by a short description, though some parts seemed to have faded with time.

Tom continued reading the book, and he read and read and read until the very last page, where he saw, written in red ink and in a completely different font than the rest of the journal:

" _Demonic Artefact number 13:_  
_Alexandria Lost number 4:_  
_■■■■■■■■■■■■_ "

The last line was blurred out to the point it was completely unreadable but the first two lines said enough. This mysterious book of his was a 「Demonic Artefact」, the fourth one from the Alexandria Lost family. His search for immortality has ended, just like that. Tom could not help but let out a laugh. He had done it. Tom Riddle was immortal.

However, as Tom would soon find out, obtaining immortality was not the end of his journey and things are never as simple as they seem.

In the months following his transformation, Tom spent most of his time practicing changing between his human form and his demon one, as well as learning to control his new powers. At first, changing between his two forms was painful. Tom felt as if he was being burned alive and stabbed by thousands of swords simultaneously. Fortunately for him, with time and practice, he was eventually capable of morphing to his demon form and back with little issue. In his demon form, Tom had eyes as red as fresh blood, moth-like antennae, light green wings with silver patterns, and armored forearms and hands. Personally, Tom would prefer becoming a snake-like demon as opposed to a moth-like one but he supposed this was better than nothing. There was also the fact that he could fly in his demon form so that was definitely a plus.

However, there was a side effect to becoming a demon. There was this insatiable hunger that was slowly growing, this craving for the delicacy that was human flesh and the ambrosia that was human blood. Oh, how he craved to take a bite out the passersby on the street, to rip their throats out and drink their blood as they screamed in fear. Oh, how great that would be.

There would be nothing greater but it would never be anything more than just a fantasy. He needed to be discreet afterall. As much as he longed for grandeur, it was not the time. Not yet. So Tom ignored this cannibalistic hunger (would it still be cannibalistic if he was now no longer human?). He was an orphan growing up in the midst of war afterall, ignoring his own hunger was something he was used to.

So, Tom continued to live his relatively peaceful life, at least, until a certain blood moon night.

On that fateful night, Tom was walking home from his job whilst silently cursing his boss, one Mr Burke, for keeping him at work for so long. He briefly considered killing the man though he would soon find out he would never get the chance. As he walked through an alleyway near a construction site, taking a shortcut home, he encountered his dear old boss. His dear old boss' corpse being devoured by an unknown spider demon. She was dressed in cheap revealing clothes and wore heavy makeup (was she a prostitute?). Her silky hair was white as snow, her jaws were big, going literally from ear to ear. The demon also had huge spider fangs protruding out of her mouth and eight spider legs coming out of her back.

"Oh?", she asked as she stopped gorging on his boss and looked at him. "And who are you?"

"Just another demon, don't mind me", Tom replied, keeping his face calm. "You can get back to eating now. I was just passing by. I'll be on my way now."

"I don't think so", she said deliriously. "I really hate when others disturb my meal."

Without saying another word, the spider demon lunged at the moth demon who barely dodged.

 _This is bad_ , Tom thought as he dodged another attack. _She's completely off her rocker. I need to get away._

Changing to his demon form, Tom flew up and away from the other demon. However, he soon found his left leg tangled in webs.

"Get back here, little butterfly", the spider demon said with a laugh. "Did you really think that you can escape from me?" The crazed demon said as she climbed up the webs.

"Get off me, you insignificant bug", Tom angrily said as he flew towards the construction site, trying to shake her off. Predictably, the other demon did not listen to him and continued to climb the web, getting closer and closer to Tom.

"Got you", she said in a singsong as she jumped on Tom's back. Unfortunately, this action caused both of them to crash into the building in construction, resulting in the destruction of part of the building.

"Shit", Tom hissed. There were various cuts and bruises all over his body and his wings were severely damaged. As immortal as he may be, he can still feel pain. The spider demon, meanwhile, was in even worse shape. Several pipes and poles pierced her body at odd angles making it impossible for her to take them out and move from her spot. She was snarling like an animal.

Suddenly, the moth demon felt another presence behind him. Turning around, he saw a young boy, around 10, with messy hair and green eyes... or something in the form of a young boy to be correct. There was no way this… thing was a normal kid. Its presence alone made Tom freeze in fear. There was something primal, something otherworldly, something eldritch about it. The thing masquerading as a boy felt like a walking nightmare, like death, like the end, like the darkest Abyss, like a never ending void. Tom was absolutely terrified yet he could not move. All his instincts were telling him to abandon all hope for there was no escape from that thing.

"There you are", it said in a voice colder than ice as it walked past Tom and towards the trapped demon. "Demonic Artefact number 64: Fangs of Gluttony number 9: 「Jorōgumo」."

As soon as the thing uttered that word, the demon convulsed as she turned into a giant white spider. The thing's facade was breaking as well. Literally. Cracks appeared all over its skin as black smoke and miasma poured out. Soon enough, all Tom could see was darkness.

…

Tom woke up to the smell of something delicious cooking. Who…?

Dragging himself out of bed and walking into his kitchen, he found the thing from the night before cooking breakfast. He had hoped it was all just a dream but the thing's appearance in his apartment said otherwise. That being said, the oppressive aura from the previous night was nowhere to be found. It felt like a normal child.

"Oh, you're awake", the child (?) innocently said with a cute smile. "You were passed out near the construction site yesterday so I brought you back home."

"Thank you, I suppose", Tom said warily. "But how did you know I live here and how did you get it."

"Well…", the kid (?) blushed. "I may have looked through your things… Anyway, take a seat. Breakfast will be done in an iffy", he (?) said, turning back to cooking, looking away from Tom.

Taking a deep breath, Tom slowly approached the seemingly unsuspecting kid, silently transforming his right arm into its demon form. The thing disguised as a kid still didn't look at him. All he needs is one precise strike and…

Suddenly, searing pain. His arm was ripped out and thrown into the corner of the room in barely a second. The thing was staring at him, flaring the aura he felt the previous night.

"That wasn't very nice now, was it?" It asked with a cold smile. "I saved you after all."

"And why would you do that?" Tom asked, clutching his wound.

"Because you still haven't given up on your humanity yet", it said matter-of-factly. "You haven't eaten any humans yet despite your demonic instincts telling you otherwise. You haven't given into the madness and bloodlust which means that you can be reasoned with... and that I can use you. It also means you are kinda bland and not that tasty. It's not like I can't eat you, I just prefer something with more flavor."

"What are you getting at?" Tom warily asked.

"You give me a place to stay, food, and help me hunt demons", it said. "And in exchange, I don't eat you. Sounds good?"

"... Yes", Tom finally replied. There was no way out of this. While there was no indication that the thing would keep its end of the bargain, the only other choice is certain death. Tom had no choice but to swallow his pride and work for the thing.

"Pleasure doing business with you", it smiled widely. "You may call me... Harry Potter."

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
> 


End file.
